"So what if he gets mad and decides to chop you up?"
Funny, I'd asked myself a similar question before getting into his car. And I'd survivedthatjust fine.
Dodging the issue, I replied, "What does chopping me up have to do with stunt-work?"
"I'm just saying, he has that sword–"
"Which I'm sure is just a prop."
"So?" she said. "The way you talk, he was a total ass-hat."
If she meant last night, she had a point. He'd been cold and insulting evenafterI'd agreed to his twisted proposal.
As far as my agreement not to "blab," Becka didn't count. She might be horrified, but she could definitely keep a secret, which is why in our crappy little bedroom, I'd just relayed what had happened between me and Flynn the previous night.
And yes, hehadbeen an ass-hat – only to me though. I sighed. "Yeah, but can I really blame him?"
"Oh, stop it," she said. "It wasn'tyourfault that Gordon's a turd."
Gordon – funny, these days, neither one of us called him Dad. Even Becka, who'd been spared the worst of his idiosyncrasies, had stopped calling him Dad long before he'd been hauled off to prison for his many financial crimes.
Unfortunately, Mom still adored him, even now, after he'd brought us loads of misery. We'd lost everything, except for a slew of unpaid legal bills.Oh yeah,we had plenty ofthosehanging around.
Lucky us.
Still, I tried to look on the bright side. Regardless of the animosity, I would trust Flynn Archer over my stepdad any day. Flynn might be rude and ruthless, but he was the kind of guy who'd keep his word – whether he'd been promising something goodorbad.
Did I like him?
No. Not anymore.
But did I trust him?
Probably. Or maybe I was only telling myself that because I was so desperate for the money.
As Becka watched, I pulled out the cash he'd given me and laid it across the rumpled sheets of my single bed. It was two thousand dollars in crisp hundred-dollar bills.
Becka frowned down at the cash. "For what he wants, you deserve way more thanthat."
I looked up. "Didn't I tell you? This is just a down payment."
She gave the money another glance. "Really?"
It suddenly struck me that I'd done a sorry job of explaining the whole arrangement. So, as Becka listened, I ran through all of the details.
Flynn wanted a local girl to pretend to be an old flame from his past. He'd already completed the filming of his latest movie, but the movie's actual release date was still four months away. During those four months, I'd pretend to be his girlfriend in order to keep – in his words – everyone off his back.
I still wasn't sure why. I mean, if he wanted people to leave him alone, wouldn't he just tell them to fuck off and be done with it?
He did, after all, have that reputation.
When I finished going over the details, Becka said, "So, are you gonna …youknow."
I knew exactly what she meant. "Have sex with him?" Recalling his hatred, I almost shuddered. "No. Definitely not. That'snotpart of the deal."
She gave a little frown. "Oh."
Now it was my turn to stare. "What, you're disappointed? I mean, youdidjust call him an ass-hat."
